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TOKYO: Japan plans to open up its regional airports to foreign airlines in an effort to increase the flow of tourists from Asia and enhance local economies, the Transport Ministry said.
Japan will ease restrictions over its air routes, allowing foreign carriers to launch services quickly without having to negotiate landing rights, the ministry said in a statement.
The plan comes amid efforts by the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to intensify regional cooperation by liberalising their individual air and maritime transport sectors.
"With the development of the framework of international air routes, we expect greater exchange with Asian countries and promote regional tourism," Friday's statement added.
Japan has set a goal of drawing 10 million foreign visitors to Japan by 2010, nearly double the figure in 2003.
Last year, a record 8.1 million foreigners visited Japan, according to the government. A private national tourist organisation said that 4.98 million came for tourism.
Japan hopes to channel tourists from its traditional hubs of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya to outlying cities including Sapporo in the north and Fukuoka in the south to improve regional economies.
Despite increased air routes, visitors may have to wait longer to enter the country once on Japanese soil as immigration officials prepare to take the fingerprints and photographs of all incoming foreigners under stringent new security measures later this month.
- AFP/so
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